Rams beat Saints in overtime, will face Patriots in Super Bowl

Trade for two star cornerbacks and a star receiver here. Sign a star defensive lineman there. Reinforce the roster during the season with a dangerous edge rusher and a veteran running back.

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They were the weapons Sean McVay and Jared Goff needed to take the next step, after the young coach and quarterback had returned the Rams to the playoffs and the position of title contender.

On Sunday, all the work paid off.

Amid deafening noise at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, Goff helped set up longtime Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein, who nailed a 57-yard field goal in overtime to defeat the New Orleans Saints 26-23 in the NFC championship game before a stunned crowd of 73,028.

The Rams advanced to the Super Bowl for the first time since the 2001 season, and the first time since the 1979 season as a Los Angeles team. They will play the New England Patriots, a 37-31 overtime winner Sunday at Kansas City, on Feb. 3 in Atlanta.

“It wasn’t always perfect,” McVay said, “but we made enough plays, and I think really the overtime period personifies what this team is all about.”

The officials did not call a penalty against Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman for pass interference or for a helmet-to-helmet hit on receiver Tommylee Lewis in the final two minutes of regulation. Instead of continuing to run the clock, the Saints were forced to kick a field goal that put them ahead, 23-20, but left time for the Rams to tie the score on a field goal with 15 seconds left.

“They blew the call,” Saints coach Sean Payton said.

Said McVay: “I am certainly not going to complain about the way that was officiated.”

There was plenty of hollering and laughter in a jubilant Rams locker room after they overcame an early 13-0 deficit, avenged a November defeat at New Orleans and silenced the crowd.

“I have a really big headache right now from yelling all day,” McVay joked.

On a day when star running back Todd Gurley scored a touchdown but mainly gave way to C.J. Anderson, the Rams offense got out of an early funk after punter Johnny Hekker completed a fourth-down pass to Sam Shields to keep alive a second-quarter drive.

The play allowed Goff to put a first-quarter interception behind him, and he led the Rams to their first three points. The Rams pulled to within 13-10 by halftime, but trailed 20-17 entering the fourth quarter. Zuerlein tied the score on a 24-yard field goal with about five minutes left, and then the Saints settled for Wil Lutz’s 31-yard kick after the non-call involving Robey-Coleman.

Zuerlein’s 48-yard field goal with 15 seconds left in regulation set the stage for another game-turning play in overtime.

The Saints had the ball and a second and 16 at their 34-yard line. Rams linebacker Dante Fowler, a trade-deadline acquisition, and veteran lineman Michael Brockers pressured Brees.

“He was holding the ball a long time,” Fowler said. “He finally threw it and I got my hand on it.”